Overview and Evidence[]
A British scientist by the name James Wickham, theorized whales could survive in the salt water of the Great Salt Lake and supposedly decided to undertake the project himself, since this could lead to a whaling industry in Utah. It was said these whales were each 35 feet long and shipped to Utah in custom-built traincars along with 50 tanks of sea water. Evidence includes an article in the June 24, 1890 edition of the Daily Enquirer, a now defunct Provo based newspaper which supposedly reported on the 15th anniversary of the transport of the whales. Artists Christine Baczek and David Hyams have come out and stated they created the various photographs of the whales being transported however, but the article is a real article, which claims, among other things, that the whales transported successfully bred which supposedly led to many more whales in he lake, and claims it seemed the whale population was remaining stable and the whaling industry established and was a healthy industry. it also describes the whales' journey, being shipped to San Francisco, then on train to Utah. Of course, there are no whales in the Great Salt Lake, and the lake is much too salty to actually support them.
Sources[]
https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/DE1/id/14851/rec/560
Gallery[]
